As Ron's consciousness faded, a scorching, dark golden flame ignited in the endless void.
The lantern in Ron's hand fell onto the branch of the Tree of Existence. The lamp overturned and shattered, its inner flame, as if struggling to release one last breath, flared up on the branch. The roaring fire instantaneously consumed this segment of the Path branch, but the flame of hope was completely extinguished after a few dozen seconds, failing to cause any damage to the branch of the Tree of Existence.
Ron's body was also immolated in this inferno. The scorching flames seared his form, erasing the deep pain brought by "death."
The holy fire of [Salvation] was like a gentle, warm current, completely enveloping Ron. The warm touch soothed his consciousness, allowing him to lose the suffering of "death" in his final moments. In the warm current, he gradually perished, his fading consciousness turning to fine sand, completely dissipating from this world.
And Nanook of [The Destruction] silently watched as Ron burned to ashes in the brilliant golden holy fire, the trace of humanity and helplessness in his eyes gradually fading away.
He did not set his sights on the [Salvation] lantern Ron left behind, even though it was the prototype of a Path, a treasure that could be devoured by the Path branch beneath his feet to greatly expand his own Path.
He simply watched with cold eyes as the [Salvation] lantern fell into the infinite nothingness, watching it vanish completely in the endless void, just like Ron's body and consciousness, turning to dust in this world, dissipating into nothing.
Beneath his feet, the golden branch belonging exclusively to "rebirth after destruction" completely lost its original luster, shrinking bit by bit back to its previous, finger-thin size.
And on the face of Nanook of [The Destruction], a rigid, unfeeling coldness gradually returned, climbing over his visage like a clinging specter, dyeing his features an icy hue, bit by bit.
His body began to grow larger and larger, returning to its former size, as massive as an entire Path branch. It seemed to hold up the heavens and stand upon the earth, its feet treading the endless void as it overlooked the mortal realm. A torrent of scorching lava and surging waves of fire flowed around it, the majestic Aeon of [The Destruction] that looked down upon all creation.
His form, as vast as a cosmic phenomenon, gradually became illusory. As time went on, it dissipated bit by bit like a soap bubble, completely vanishing into this endless void, crossing the boundary between the mortal world and the otherworld, returning once more to its normal dimension.
…He was still the Aeon of [Destruction] who had forsaken "rebirth," who viewed all civilization between the stars as a cancer upon the world, a tumor and a blight that must be eradicated.
But… the will that the true Nanook of [The Destruction] had intended to convey had, at the moment he regained his senses and became clear-headed, been given with all his strength to the Ron who had turned to dust and dissipated from this worldline, returning once more to his starting point.
And Ron's consciousness, wrapped in the holy fire of [Salvation], was being extracted from the simulation bit by bit. It broke through the boundary of that worldline and returned once more to his own body.
He felt an incomparable warmth enveloping his consciousness as it traveled through the long river of time. It seemed as if endless fragments of sound were flashing past his ears, different whispers lulling his thoughts.
He slowly opened his eyes in the warmth, but before him was a deep, silent, and gloomy fog.
This hazy everything, like a mist rushing towards his face, clouded Ron's vision, stripping it away at this very moment.
Ron looked at the blurry haze before him. He felt this gray everything affecting his thoughts and memories through his vision, making him drown in a warm ignorance, letting everything become muddled in the hazy fog.
This heavy fog sought to blur Ron's final impressions from this simulation, to blur his greatest takeaways.
But just as Ron's vision and consciousness were enveloped by the hazy gray fog, gradually losing their sharpness and vitality, losing all memory and cognition of everything—
Wisps, as if seeping in from the corners of this heavy gray fog, flowed before Ron's eyes… It was a mysterious and strange, rose-colored mist, praised and spread by romantic poets.
This rose-colored mist flowed into Ron's mind through his seven orifices, completely sealing all his senses like a chain, leaving his consciousness in a state of absolute "un-feeling." Enveloped completely by the rose-colored mist, all haziness was replaced at this moment by a more intense sense of dread—
This void, having lost all sensation, was the most severe negation of existence. It was a terror that would cause any being in the world to feel despair from the depths of their soul to their very physiology in an instant.
If it were an ordinary person, at the moment they experienced this terror, it would perhaps be far more dangerous than the heavy fog—
After all, the heavy fog only made one dazedly forget the past, but this utter nothingness would bring a terrifying dread that could make any normal person fall into despair in an instant.
But… Ron was no ordinary person.
Early on in the last simulation, Ron had successfully stirred the consciousness of IX of [The Nihility] in reality, causing the being that should have no consciousness, the one who represents the antithesis of all existence, to open its dazed, small eyes and cast its gaze in Ron's direction.
Ron had long experienced this terrifying baptism of [Nihility]. He already had a firm conviction in the Path of [The Nihility], had firmly walked onto a branch of the Path that proved "existence," and would no longer be thrown into the abyss of despair by such a cold nothingness in an instant.
He would only, in this endless void, once again reaffirm his own existence, reaffirm the singular will of "existence" within this nothingness, making his own consciousness more condensed, more resolute.
This will was extremely firm, so firm that in this void where all senses were lost, Ron, with his resolute will of "existence," reshaped a form for his consciousness.
This consciousness-body was lifelike, looking just like him, indistinguishable from his real self.
Therefore… even though Ron's senses were completely shrouded and shielded by this rose-colored mist, forcing his thoughts into a cold and empty void, he did not collapse into nothingness. Instead, because he had lost his senses, he was no longer affected by the heavy, gray fog.
The cold nothingness continuously assailed Ron's mind, but under the effect of his resolute will, Ron had never once felt so clear-headed.
Having cast aside the influence of all other things, Ron's consciousness could now, with the swiftest and most composed demeanor, think about everything he had experienced and deduce the future.
---o---
Although his mind was quite chaotic—everything he experienced in this simulation and the events he was experiencing now had a great impact on him, and a lot of information was being messily stuffed into his head—he needed to sort it all out properly now. But this did not prevent him from making sense of everything he had just gone through.
The thoughts were chaotic, the questions numerous… Then he would unravel it thread by thread, starting from the present.
Right now, what was this endless void and haze, this rose-colored mist and heavy, gray fog he was experiencing?
Based on his previous few encounters in the simulations, it didn't take much deduction to know that this rose-colored mist was undoubtedly Mythus of [The Enigmata], the Aeon dedicated to hiding everything behind a curtain, the one who had once been obstructing Ron's search for the truth of the universe.
Its Emanator, a Fictional Historian, had even been secretly observing Ron during the last simulation, ready to step in at any moment to hinder his research.
At the time, Ron had thought that Mythus of [The Enigmata] was not a good person. After all, it was obstructing his research into technology, his development of New Belobog, and his attempts to revive the nation.
But everything that followed proved that Mythus's obstruction was correct. It had indeed hindered Ron's research, especially his triggering of miracles and his research into the Stellaron.
But it was precisely these small miracles and his research into the Stellaron that ultimately pushed Ron to attempt to become an Aeon and perceive the truth of the cosmos.
It was because Ron had walked this path that he was thoroughly targeted by Terminus of [The Finality], bound by a predetermined fate, which ultimately led to the "fated calamity"—a war of annihilation led by Nanook of [The Destruction] and several Lord Ravagers against him and New Belobog.
Although Ron ultimately resolved this war by becoming the Aeon of [Salvation], defeating all the invading enemies and temporarily resolving the trouble with the help of Aha of [The Elation], this did not mean that Mythus's actions were wrong.
After all, Mythus had no way of knowing that Ron could directly become an Aeon, and certainly didn't know that Ron had the power to resist.
Ron might not have fully understood Mythus's actions before, but now, its objective was very clear—
It was to completely veil the truest reality of this sea of stars, to hide all truth and information that could trigger calamities, attract the backlash of fate, and embroil one in a fated disaster.
To place civilizations and life forms that lacked the qualifications and ability to face the impending dangers into a soft but false cradle, to prevent them from "being destroyed" in a fated calamity because they sought truths and information they should not have known.
And this time, although Ron wasn't sure where this dense, gray fog that had twice veiled him came from, he was certain that it was heavily related to Terminus of [The Finality].
After all, the web of fate that veiled the entire top of the Tree of Existence, woven from black and white threads of destiny, had a thick, gray fog flowing over it like a viscous fluid.
Since this extremely heavy gray fog was affecting Ron's thoughts, attempting to make him forget the most important information he had gained in this simulation—to forget the web of fate covering the top of the Tree of Existence, to forget the strange events concerning Nanook of [The Destruction]—the one who would benefit most from this was clearly Terminus of [The Finality]. Naturally, only Terminus or its other puppets could do such a thing.
The fact that Mythus of [The Enigmata] could act at this time, helping Ron by veiling all his senses so that he wouldn't lose this memory, clearly showed that Mythus acknowledged Ron's qualifications to possess this memory, and agreed that he might be able to use this information to resist Terminus.
Another potential ally who would offer help at the right time?
Ron thought about it. Mythus's performance was quite peculiar. At first, it seemed like an Aeon helping Terminus veil the truth of the universe, seemingly an enemy. But when it was time to act, Mythus showed no hesitation whatsoever.
Sigh, Mythus old pal, you really go all in when it counts.
Ron couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration in his heart. A faint smile touched his lips, but it quickly faded.
Mythus… although such an unexpected ally was a good thing, it did little to alleviate the heavy pressure Ron felt.
One Aeon… even if more Aeons were to offer their help, what difference would it make?
Ron couldn't help but sigh softly. Everything he experienced in this simulation had made his thoughts complicated. He once again recognized the terrifying power of Terminus of [The Finality].
Not only could it control an Aeon like Nanook of [The Destruction], whose Path was similar to its own, but it could also directly bind other Aeons in place with the shackles of fate, preventing them from acting. It could even weave a web of fate from the threads of destiny to block the top of the Tree of Existence.
In this simulation, Nanook of [The Destruction], after regaining his "rebirth after destruction" Path branch and temporarily regaining his consciousness, had secretly told Ron that only by piercing through reality, piercing through that veil, could one see the truth of it all.
It was obvious that if one wanted to climb to the top of the Tree of Existence, or even just to look at it, one needed to pass through the heavy boundary of this web of fate, to overcome the obstacle set by Terminus.
Ron was almost certain that if he truly wanted to touch this web of fate, he would be discovered by Terminus in an instant.
To truly break through this barrier next would clearly be extremely difficult. After all, Terminus was no easy character to deal with.
Ron just thought about it and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. He helplessly rubbed his temples and sighed softly.
Don't look at the fact that he already had a goal now. This goal was easy to say, but incredibly difficult to achieve.
Piercing through reality, piercing through the veil, ascending to the top of the Tree of Existence—it sounded like a simple and clear task, but the difficulty was unimaginable.
If he really came face to face with Terminus, Ron didn't think he could be like he was with Nanook this time, directly passing through his obstruction to achieve his goal.
Terminus was the final enemy. It was obvious that it had no alterable Path concept. It couldn't be like Nanook, letting him pass just for a moment, letting him climb to the top of the Tree of Existence.
As for the fact that he had clearly died in the simulation this time, yet Terminus was still trying to tamper with his departing consciousness and soul, that was not beyond Ron's expectations. If Aha of [The Elation] could be aware of the simulation, how could Terminus not be?
But it was obvious that Terminus could not prevent Ron's consciousness from leaving the simulation, and was completely unable to truly affect the operation of the Life Simulation Game. It could only rely on affecting Ron's mind, hoping to make him forget what he had seen in this simulation.
And that proved, clear as day, that the strength of the Life Simulation Game itself was still far superior to Terminus.
Although Ron could worry about how difficult it would be to break through Terminus's web of fate, and how difficult Terminus would be to deal with as an enemy, he didn't have to worry about Terminus actually chasing him into reality to act against him. This at least gave Ron some peace of mind.
With this in mind, Ron was suddenly taken aback. If that was the case, Terminus's performance was clearly not that of a player of the Life Simulation Game.
If it were a player itself, it would have surely made preparations long ago. It wouldn't have let him so easily walk the Path of [Destruction], advance upon it, and ultimately discover the existence of the Tree of Existence's top, which it wanted to hide, which was shrouded by its web of fate.
Then… his previous idea about the Xianzhou [Luofu] was wrong. The Xianzhou [Luofu] was clearly not his enemy. Since Terminus had no intention of targeting him in reality, the arrival of the [Luofu] could not possibly be due to Terminus's will.
Then… whose will was it that brought the Xianzhou [Luofu]?
Ron thought carefully. For a moment, he couldn't help but feel a headache. He rubbed his temples, feeling a bit helpless.
Before, he thought it might be that Lan of [The Hunt], like Nanook of [The Destruction], was a puppet of Terminus, and the arrival of the [Luofu] was due to a Reignbow's Decree. But now it seemed that wasn't the case.
Lan of [The Hunt] itself was difficult to imagine as a puppet of Terminus. After all, although its appearance was mysterious and its Path concept leaned towards the extreme, it had not yet reached the point of "finality." It was completely different from Nanook, who, after getting rid of the "rebirth after destruction" extreme tendency, became completely compatible with [The Finality] and could serve as a convenient puppet.
The reason Ron had previously thought the [Luofu]'s arrival might be due to a Reignbow's Decree from Lan was simply because he couldn't imagine which player on the [Luofu] could command the entire vessel with their own power, causing it to deviate from its original course, and willingly provide a blood transfusion to Belobog, saving the dying Jarilo-VI. It was simply unreasonable.
He had considered every one of the Luofu's Six Charioteers. The most suspicious were naturally Fu Xuan, who had come to find him personally, and Jing Yuan, the general of the Luofu. But putting aside the fact that it was impossible for them to command the entire Luofu on their own, even if they could, why wouldn't they have tried to contact him in a previous simulation?
Were these two really that reckless?
Ron was baffled. But no matter how difficult the truth was to comprehend, as long as there were no other more likely conjectures, he had to temporarily treat it as the truth and prepare for such a situation.
With these thoughts, Ron stroked his chin. The flame of [Salvation] enveloped his consciousness, and the rose-colored mist sealed all his senses—
As he pondered how he should contact the player on the Xianzhou, his consciousness gradually returned to reality, bit by bit, back into his own body.
And at that moment, on the other side—
Fu Xuan was staring at the light screen before her, lost in thought.
---o---
[Star Calendar 8100, Month 3.]
[You head to the Divination Commission for work as usual. Originally, only you, the Master Diviner, would enter the commission before work hours. But recently, due to Ron's arrival, you would often see him arriving early for work every day, studying the commission's texts at his workstation.]
[You had actually thought that with Ron's diligence, you could arrange a competency test for him after a while and then officially make him a diviner. You could even tell him about it today so he could prepare.]
[But when you arrived at the Divination Commission, you found it completely empty, as if Ron had never been there. It was so cold and deserted.]
[You are a little confused, but you think it's just because Ron took a day off yesterday to rest. Perhaps he was too tired from playing and slept in, unable to wake up early. Maybe today he would be like Qingque, slacking off and rushing in at the last minute to clock in and sit at his desk.]
[But even when Qingque, who had been too engrossed in playing Celestial Jade and was a full fifteen minutes late, for which you punished her by making her write a three-thousand-word self-reflection on her idea of escaping back to the Luofu from Belobog just to play, had handed in her reflection, Ron's seat was still empty. You gradually began to feel that something was not right.]
[Ron had clearly only taken one day off yesterday, but he didn't come to work again today. He wasn't that kind of person.]
[Even if he wanted to take another day off, so what? As the most diligent model employee in the Divination Commission besides you, this month he had only used one day of leave. Even if he wanted to ask for another day of personal leave, you obviously wouldn't say anything to him. He just needed to send you a message via his Jade Abacus.]
The text on the screen faded, and a new option box appeared:
[The current situation with Ron is not normal. You feel that based on his previous performance, this guy who is usually so diligent would not suddenly skip work without a word.]
[He must have run into some trouble.]
[As his direct superior, the Master Diviner of the Luofu's Divination Commission, what do you decide to do?]
[Please choose—]
[1. "How could this be?! Go and notify the Realm-Keeping Commission and the Seat of Divine Foresight! Tell them the Divination Commission has lost a diviner! ...On second thought, I will go find him myself!"]
[You understand Ron's importance. This guy is a ticking time bomb. With just a slight nudge, he could blow the Xianzhou [Luofu] to smithereens. The recent commercial prosperity that has just appeared on the [Luofu] will be completely reduced to a cold void after this time bomb detonates. The Luofu will become endless white ash, drifting in this cold universe, eventually being pulled in by the gravity of some unknown planet, to be completely absorbed and devoured, no longer existing in this world. You absolutely cannot allow this to happen. You must find Ron now, pull him out of whatever trouble he's in, and make sure he absolutely does not become the spark that ignites the fuse. Keep this time bomb calm, and do not trigger the complete destruction of the [Luofu]. You decide to set out immediately, first to the Yichen Inn, and begin searching for traces of Ron from there. You will trigger the event: "Searching for the Vanished."
[2. "Ron... hmm, Ron will be fine. Don't act rashly. Perhaps he is testing the Luofu..."]
[You know what a genius Ron is. His abilities can absolutely get him out of any situation. You believe that an existence who could become an Aeon will not be defeated by some small setback. You suspect that Ron wants to test the Luofu, to see what your intentions are for bringing him here, to see if his value is enough for him to try and use it to leverage the Luofu authorities. This speculation is not very kind to Ron, but you know that a person like him, upon arriving in a new place, will inevitably try to climb up, bit by bit, until he reaches the center of power here, just as he did in Belobog. You are actually not against giving Ron more authority, nor are you against giving him more benefits. But your willingness to give them to him does not mean you are willing to accept him taking them through underhanded means. You decide to ignore Ron for a day, to show that you don't care that much about him, and see what he will do.]
[3. "Damn it, Ron must be in some trouble... Quick, there's no time, quickly activate the Matrix of Divination! I need to see what crisis could possibly be so great that even Ron can't handle it!"]
[You know what a genius Ron is. So a crisis that even he seems to have no time for, a crisis that has led to his complete disappearance, must be an extremely difficult problem to solve. At a time like this, you absolutely cannot be greedy for merit and act rashly. No matter what, you must first activate the Matrix of Divination, cast a good trigram, and then decide. As the head of the Divination Commission, your greatest tool is to seek good fortune and avoid disaster—if there is real trouble, with the Matrix of Divination gathering the computing power of countless Jade Abaci, and with the Omniscia granted to you by Nous, the Erudition, how could you not get a glimpse of it? As long as it's not an Aeon-level super disaster, you can see the truth of the matter no matter what. At the very least, you can rely on the calculations of the Matrix of Divination to gain the upper hand for the Luofu. You decide to immediately activate the Matrix of Divination at the highest level and begin to calculate and divine everything that has happened to Ron. You will trigger the event: "A Glimpse into the Sea of Fire."
---o---
Looking at the options on the screen, Fu Xuan frowned tightly.
"Ron is missing… What is going on now?"
She looked at the screen and couldn't help but sigh. "As expected, it wasn't going to be that easy."
She had actually anticipated that there would definitely be trouble with Ron. She just didn't expect it to come so quickly, to the point where it had already happened before she could even react.
Just a moment ago in the simulation, Ron had helped the company acquire Aurum Alley, the Merchant's Guild had received a hefty compensation, and the Luofu, with the newly built starport and expanded trade with the company, was heading towards a new round of commercial prosperity. It seemed like everything was heading in a good direction.
Fu Xuan had even begun to think that Ron was actually a well-behaved person who could live peacefully anywhere. The reason he became what he was in Belobog was just because Belobog was too far behind and had been hovering in a world-ending calamity for seven hundred years, almost unable to save itself. That was why Ron was forced to become that person, and it was not his true nature—
And then Ron's next actions were a slap to her face.
Taking a day off and then disappearing? That could hardly be called well-behaved. What on earth was he up to?
Did he turn into an abomination, or did he become an Aeon? He couldn't have just set the Luofu on fire, right?
For a moment, Fu Xuan felt a headache coming on. She pressed her temples and sighed heavily.
It seemed that the task of completely defusing this time bomb, of not giving him a chance to detonate, was indeed a long and arduous one.
Fortunately, this was in a simulation.
If Ron's sudden disappearance had happened in reality, Fu Xuan couldn't even imagine how anxious she would be at that moment.
After comforting herself a little, Fu Xuan looked at the three options on the screen and pondered for a moment. After a moment of hesitation, her fair, slender finger gently tapped the screen, aiming for the third option.
This simulation only needed to find out what had happened to Ron, to gather intelligence in preparation for the next simulation. Therefore, the third option was a must. Only by divining could she get the most comprehensive information, even if doing so would waste a lot of time—
If she were facing this situation in reality, Fu Xuan estimated that after a moment of thought, she would immediately choose the first option, to first go to the Yichen Inn to check things out, to see if Ron was still there.
If the trouble Ron had encountered was at the Yichen Inn, then Fu Xuan might still have a chance to save the situation. Arriving early might even give her a chance to save the Luofu from fire and water.
But this simulation didn't need to worry about that. She just needed to figure out what had happened.
With this thought, Fu Xuan clicked on the third option.
The option box on the screen faded, and new lines of text appeared:
[Something has happened… Ron's sudden disappearance is by no means normal. There must be some big trouble.]
[There can be no delay… There can be absolutely no delay now.]
[The Xianzhou [Luofu] has soared for eight thousand years, and who knows how many crises, big and small, it has weathered. In each one, the Divination Commission has always performed a careful divination before the crisis arrived, doing its utmost to try and seize the initiative for the Luofu in the crisis…]
[It was so for the past Xianzhou [Luofu], and it is even more so for the present Xianzhou [Luofu], which has the Matrix of Divination built and presided over by you—there is no such thing as having a divine artifact and not using it.]
[Although a trace of panic has arisen in your heart due to Ron's disappearance, the Matrix of Divination is right beside you. You do not delay any further and unhesitatingly activate the matrix for divination—]
The text on the screen gradually faded, and a new scene appeared:
The Fu Xuan in the scene looked grave. She looked at the massive matrix before her, which encompassed almost the entire Divination Commission, and urged Qingque at her side with a solemn expression:
"Qingque! Go and help me open the Realm-Sphere Array base of the Matrix of Divination. While you're at it, go to the Operations Hall and tell all the diviners to drop whatever they're doing and focus all their efforts on maintaining the operation of the Matrix of Divination. I will not allow even the slightest mistake!"
"Huh… huh?!"
Qingque held a crumpled piece of paper in her hand. This was the self-reflection that Fu Xuan had demanded she write for her desertion, which she had been writing bit by bit while slacking off.
She had just come to hand in a late, penalty-induced self-reflection. How did the Master Diviner suddenly become so flustered, as if she were about to go to war with the Denizens of Abundance?
This level of mobilization… the Master Diviner wasn't even this serious when she observed the Reignbow's Decree!
What happened? Did I miss some world-changing event while I was playing Celestial Jade?
Just as Qingque was feeling utterly lost, momentarily dazed by this impactful reality, a rather anxious Fu Xuan glanced at her and urged:
"Qingque! Did you hear what I said? What are you doing?!"
"Ah… ah! Yes, Master Diviner!"
Qingque snapped back to her senses at Fu Xuan's shout. Shaking her little head to clear all the doubt and confusion from her mind, she unhesitatingly took off running, her two little short legs pattering as fast as a torrential downpour—
So, Qingque wasn't always so unreliable. She loved to slack off and was a true lazybones, but she also knew when it was time to get serious.
Although she didn't know why Fu Xuan had become so frantic, since the Master Diviner had given such a panicked order, it was clearly a time when she absolutely could not slack off.
Watching Qingque run off with her short legs, Fu Xuan immediately shifted her attention back to the Matrix of Divination at her feet. She unhesitatingly stomped her foot lightly on the massive matrix formed by countless Jade Abaci. The matrix rippled like water, and countless floating characters rose from the watery ripples on the ground, flying into the air and forming a chaotic scroll of text.
She brought her hands up before her forehead, framing the chaotic characters in the air as if taking a photograph. A brilliant violet light flashed from the Omniscia on her forehead—
That light, like fine threads, shot out from the Omniscia between her brows. The violet light connected the countless scattered characters, a shimmering light linking them together, painstakingly dragging the chaotic characters into an ordered arrangement, connecting them one by one with an extremely mysterious and wondrous rhythm, slowly constructing them into a document.
Beads of sweat couldn't help but form on Fu Xuan's forehead. The sweat trickled down her smooth forehead to her slender neck, then down her neck to her tender chest, soaking her collar. This was clear proof that she was almost at her limit, yet still on the verge of collapsing.
Fu Xuan had never performed such a difficult divination—the Matrix of Divination had been activated time and time again since its establishment, and every time it was activated at full power like this, it was for no small matter.
But with the help of the computing power from these endless Jade Abaci, even when facing an Emanator-level threat, at most it would only make Fu Xuan feel a little tired. It wouldn't reach the point where she had been calculating for so long and still couldn't piece together a general understanding of the situation.
But even though Fu Xuan was about to collapse, she still grit her teeth and, with her last bit of will, forcefully connected several dozen ethereal characters, simply piecing together a small fragment.
Although this fragment couldn't do anything important, it could at least be used as a divination result for calculation and deduction, to try and observe what had happened to Ron, even if it was just a tiny bit.
But even a tiny bit was at least a result. Fu Xuan collapsed to the ground, half-kneeling, slumping over and gasping for breath. Qingque, who had long since completed her task, had a speech bubble with an exclamation mark pop up above her head. Her toes froze for a moment in shock, and she quickly ran to Fu Xuan's side, struggling to help the completely exhausted Fu Xuan to her feet.
And Fu Xuan had only just caught her breath when she immediately held it in again, her trembling hand reaching out to activate the fragment of text above the Matrix of Divination, driving it into the matrix to begin the final calculation, trying to divine a result that could bring even a sliver of value.
But these several dozen characters spun and spun within the Matrix of Divination. After a long, long time, they still couldn't connect and form a spread-out scroll as before, allowing one to see the scene within—
It wasn't until another half-hour had passed, and the Matrix of Divination was almost overloaded, that it finally, forcefully, sketched out a scroll.
These several dozen characters were thrown in, and on it, a stuttering, flickering, and blurry image was drawn—
Although the image was blurry due to the severe overload of the Matrix of Divination, and because Fu Xuan had not been able to gather all the divination conditions, only managing to sketch out characters based on Ron's various information after activating the matrix, simply arranging a fragment to serve as the divination condition to activate the matrix, making it extremely rough, the few flashing silhouettes on it were still enough to make one stand frozen in shock.
On the image projected by the Matrix of Divination were several blurry silhouettes—
There was Ron, standing on a golden branch, his body covered in brilliant golden cracks, moving forward with a lantern in his hand;
There was Nanook of [The Destruction], standing before a phantom, blurry, and indistinct behemoth, surrounded by a stellar ring formed of lava and flames, looking down upon the world;
There was Ron, his heart crushed by Nanook of [The Destruction], his golden-red blood spraying out, and as he fell onto the golden branch, an endless, brilliant golden flame erupted, the tongues of fire licking at the branch in a blazing inferno—
The image on the light screen slowly faded, and new lines of text appeared:
[Because you decided to use the Matrix of Divination to divine what Ron has been through, you have managed to see that brilliant golden inferno through his experiences—]
[You have triggered the event: "A Glimpse into the Sea of Fire."
Looking at the image and text on the screen, Fu Xuan's pupils widened slightly. She stammered for a moment, her mouth open as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she closed her mouth, and her entire being fell silent.
This brilliant golden flame had awakened some not-so-good memories, reminding her of the tragic end in the last simulation where she was enveloped by the brilliant golden holy light and turned to ash.
But perhaps she had seen it too many times, and on top of that, this was just a simulation on a screen. Fu Xuan seemed to be desensitized. For the time being, she didn't actually feel any fear.
What she felt more was a constantly growing urge to complain and an intense sense of fatigue.
She was silent for a long time. She looked at the several silhouettes in the image on the screen, and her violet pupils trembled violently—
I give you a day off, and you go pick a fight with an Aeon?
A wail of confusion, born from an extreme lack of information, rose from the bottom of Fu Xuan's heart.
Can't you just not have such a strong drive to action, Ron!
What… what the hell is going on?!
---o---
And just as Fu Xuan was having a bit of a crisis of faith due to Ron's performance, the extremely proactive Ron had no idea just how much trauma his actions had inflicted upon this girl who was only a few hundred years old.
He was only just now coming back to his senses from the simulation. His consciousness was being extracted from the simulation bit by bit, and wisps of it were being injected back into his body, gradually returning to reality.
And at the moment that his consciousness returned to reality, whether it was the brilliant golden holy fire of [Salvation], the rose-colored mist, or the heavy, dark gray fog, in that instant, all were erased. They were swept away by an infinite, higher-level power, completely disappearing from reality.
It was as if they had never existed, their so-called "existence" easily shattered by that infinite power from a higher level, completely smashing their "proof of existence."
And Ron was not yet aware of these things. The slight effect on his mind from traversing the simulation and reality… He was only just now dazedly opening his eyes, his consciousness completely returning to his real body.
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tl: there's one thing i can say.. im tired boss